This week's mailing is:
Letters:
- To parents of Third Year Boys – Parents' Social Evening
Notices:
Return to school
We look forward to welcoming new boys and those returning. Extract from Key Dates:
Sunday 31 August New boarders arrive
Monday 1 September Other boarders return
Monday 1 September First year induction
Monday 1 September, 3.45pm Head’s reception for 1st Year parents, Lacies Court Garden
Tuesday 2 September Term begins (first day back for lower sixth)
After beginning with a tutor period, there will be Head's and House Assemblies, and a service at St Helen's Church at 11.15am.
Open Day on Saturday 27 September for all pupils except first years
All boys except first years will need to be in school for Open Day. The weekday bus schedule will run half an hour later than on normal weekdays.
Coach park and Faringdon Road
Parents are reminded that cars waiting by the coach park impede prompt departure of the buses as well as causing traffic problems: the pick up point is Park Crescent.
Requests for absence
Extract from the 2014/15 Parents' Handbook:
Leave out of School
Requests involving the absence of any boy for more than a day of School time should be made in writing to the Head. His Housemaster may deal with requests involving absence of a day or less. Parents are strongly requested not to take their sons out of School for any but the most pressing reasons. It must be said that we object strongly to applications for leave that have the effect of extending the already generous School holidays.
Sporting Fixtures
Boys are expected to be available for matches against other schools unless specific permission has been sought from and granted by the Head. Any request should be made well in advance, at least one week before the fixture and copied to the Director of Sport and PE.
Parent and Guardian Contact Details
Please do contact us to update us with any changes to parent and/or guardian contact details, such as email addresses and mobile phone numbers, so that we can ensure our databases are kept as up to date as possible. Any changes can be emailed to [email protected]
Term Calendar and Key Dates
Boys will be given a hard copy of the calendar at the start of term, but, for information for new parents, there is an online calendar which is kept regularly up to date. Each week there is a link from the Friday Weekly Mailing to the 'The Week Ahead' which you will find on the top right of the weekly mailing page. Any amendments to Michaelmas Term 2014 events made after the end of last term will be indicated clearly. In addition, there is a 'Key Dates' page for 2014/15. This page highlights events such as parents' evenings, Head's receptions for current parents, social evenings and evening presentations to parents. Term dates for 2014/15 and 2015/16 are also on the website.
Tuesday 2 September – Sport and PE
Please note that all 1st, 2nd and 4th Year boys have a Sports lesson on Tuesday afternoon. It is important that boys bring their sports kit with them to School on this, the first day of term. We will be working outdoors and it is therefore important that they bring the appropriate kit.
Mouthguard Fittings
This is a reminder that the O-pro dentist fittings, are on Tuesday 2 and Thursday 4 September in the Sports Centre changing rooms. Years 1, 2 & 4 will have their fittings during their sports lesson. Years 3, 5, 6 and 7 should attend when available between 1.30 and 4pm. If you have ordered a new mouthguard, please remind your son to attend.
Saturday Bus Service
This service will start on Saturday 6 September. Please see the attached document which identifies the six different bus routes, including the individual stops and the designated times.
We are very keen for as many boys as possible to use this service. It has been set up to ease the burden on parents of getting their sons to School for the inter School fixtures. There is no charge for this service.
The buses are scheduled to arrive at School at 11.30am, allowing the boys time to have lunch in the Dining Hall, have a brief team meeting, and depart for their fixtures on time. Those boys who are involved in home fixtures will be catered for and supervised until the start of their matches. This service applies to all boys involved in sport on a Saturday afternoon, whether it be in cross country, badminton, rugby or any other sport. If you would like to make any comment, or have any queries in this regard, please contact the Assistant Director of Sport and PE. If you intend to utilise this service, please ensure that you son is at the appropriate stop 5 minutes before the scheduled departure.
Inter School Fixtures
Abingdon has a strong tradition of participating in inter school fixtures across the age ranges. In recent years we have strengthened our fixture list, and been more ambitious in the schools we have been playing. Boys are expected to be available for matches against other schools unless specific permission has been sought from, and granted, by the Head. Please avoid asking for leave of absence. Any request should be made well in advance, at least one week before the fixture. The Assistant Director of Sport and PE [email protected] should be copied in on any such leave of absence request.
To assist parental planning, the Sport and Physical Education Department email teamsheets for each of the age groups to parents on a Thursday evening. This will be sent to the primary contact, which we have stored on Schoolbase, our internal database. There are a number of primary contacts for whom we have not got email addresses attached, and these contacts will therefore not be receiving the email. Please do supply data to the School, so as to ease our paths of communication. The teamsheets for each age group will also be displayed on the notice boards in the Sports Centre.
It is vitally important that parents contact the appropriate member of staff in cases of illness on a Saturday morning so that replacements can be sought, and we do not end up in the embarrassing situation by being short of players to fulfil our fixtures. Sanctions will be applied to those boys who fail to comply with this request. Parents may also contact the Abingdon School Sports Centre Reception on 01235 849062 in case of any problems arising.
Off-Games Procedure
Boys who are unable to participate, because they are ‘off games’ must excuse themselves in advance. Boys must present an ‘off games’ note/letter from parents or the Health Centre to the member of staff i/c their activity, by lunchtime on the day of the activity. Alternatively, the pupil should report to the member of staff at the start of the activity to excuse themselves in person. Sending a message via other pupils is not acceptable. Team players, who are able to do so, should attend the training session in order to pick up coaching points and so that the coach has an opportunity to talk to the boys about likely availability for the next match.
If the pupil has a medical note or advice from a medical professional regarding the rehabilitation process, please send in a copy of this note so that the School can play an active role through use of the Fitness Suite or by maintaining fitness through participation in an alternative activity. If you have any queries in this regard please contact the Assistant Director of Sport & PE.
Physiotherapy Provision
The School is very fortunate to have access to a Physiotherapist who operates on site on a Wednesday afternoon so that the boys are able to access treatment directly, rather than for parents having to make alternative arrangements. If you would like to make use of this service, please contact the Sports Centre Duty Manager.
Tutor Groups
Please see the attached document for details of the tutor groups in each house.
Bus Safety
Parents are asked to remind their sons that they should wait to cross the road until well after the coach has departed from a stop, to ensure boys have full sight of other traffic.
